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LIVE from the Camino The September Wave: Increase in Pilgrims and Availability of Beds

Becky 59

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
CF 2018, 2021, 2023; CI 2019; CP 2022, 2023
The “September Wave” seems to be here; in Logroño where I am serving as hospitalera, we are receiving lots of perigrinos now who started on or around Sept 1st. We had 35 of a possible 36 here last night, and the last one arrived after 5 pm; tonight we have only 21 spaces (the diocese is using one of our mat dormitories for a choir practice tonight) and didn’t fill until 5 pm, and the Municipal didn’t fill until 3:00. Everyone tells us they have found beds in the towns they want to stay in so far (once they got past Zubiri). Pilgrims are starting early 5-6 am) to avoid 30 degree temps in the afternoons, and the flooding from last weekend’s storm has dried up. In late August just before I started they weren’t full for the most part.
Hopefully this is encouraging for those of you out there. Hydrate and keep up with electrolytes! We had one Pilgrim with a severe case of heat exhaustion a few days ago.
 
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Hi Becky! (From the recent lettuce and mushroom washer and pilgrim at your albergue.) So are you saying that if I stop to heal my ankle for a couple of days, I won’t have to traipse all over and hear “no room at the inn”? Well, to be honest, if I just keep my normal slow pace, the wave should wash right over me in no time!

Best lentil stew ever, by the way.
 
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I'm surprised that I haven't read more accounts of people who can't find beds. It will be interesting to see the September statistics when they are released by the St Jean Pilgrim Office.
 
Someone who's serving as hospitalera right now states that their albergue only fills up late in the afternoon, and that most pilgrims report finding beds in the places they wanted to.

Yet, replies are about how busy it is and that reservations are needed, and that there should be more reports of a shortage of beds...

Can't we be happy for once that apparently many pilgrims seem to NOT have accommodation problems right now, despite the "september wave"?
 
good_old_shoes said:
Can't we be happy for once that apparently many pilgrims seem to NOT have accommodation problems right now, despite the "september wave"?
Click to expand...
I am happy about it. Perhaps I should have said that I'm pleasantly surprised that I haven't read more accounts of people who can't find beds.
 
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I am happy and I do hope it is reassuring. I'm not at all suggesting anyone panic. But I also note that the reassuring report seems to be from Logroño and the biggest bottleneck has historically been between Roncesvalles and Pamplona.
 
David Tallan said:
I am happy and I do hope it is reassuring. I'm not at all suggesting anyone panic. But I also note that the reassuring report seems to be from Logroño and the biggest bottleneck has historically been between Roncesvalles and Pamplona.
Click to expand...
But we are a full week into September without tales of pilgrims sleeping by the side of the road, which is s good sign.
In recent years both public albergues in Zubiri and Larrasoaña were closed with 73 and 10 beds respectively, so with both of them open again some of the pressure is eased.
 
David Tallan said:
I am happy and I do hope it is reassuring. I'm not at all suggesting anyone panic. But I also note that the reassuring report seems to be from Logroño and the biggest bottleneck has historically been between Roncesvalles and Pamplona.
Click to expand...
Exactly - panic also has a way of reinforcing itself and spreading without any real basis. In short - those of us that have been on several caminos can tell everybody: it's never as bad as you think.
 
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Currently on the Camino in Zubiri. Took some searching to find beds the past 2 nights yet had great success and very pleasant adventures. Booked ahead for Pamplona as we are in recovery mode after a difficult first 2 days on the trail.

We are able / happy to pay a little more if we need to, ok with sleeping rough if it happens and comfortable with taking a cab to the next stop if we find everywhere full.

Stay flexible and have some / some more room in your budget if you can . The Camino finds a way.
 
trecile said:
I'm surprised that I haven't read more accounts of people who can't find beds. It will be interesting to see the September statistics when they are released by the St Jean Pilgrim Office.
Click to expand...
Will be interesting to read. The August figures were just published on the SJPDP pilgrim office Facebook page. August numbers slightly up on last year while June and July were a little lower than 2022. An overall increase of 10.58% on last year so far.

 
Last edited:
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"The Camino finds a way."

I'm sticking with this philosophy. Gracias.
 
AllisonMarie said:
Typically, when does this “September wave” crest and start to recede? I will be starting on the 22st. It’s it still at its height then?
Click to expand...
Historically it's been the first two weeks of September. Particularly the first week. This graph from 2017 shows starts from SJPdP by week. The big spike at week 36 was the September 4 - 10 that year.


 
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Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Further update on bed availability: last night (Saturday night) the entire city of Logroño was packed, as is typical for weekends when local Spaniards join the throngs of perigrinos in albergues. (I always preferred to try and spend Saturdays in little villages that wouldn’t attract so many weekenders). Always a good thing to keep in mind when seeking beds.
 
AllisonMarie said:
Typically, when does this “September wave” crest and start to recede? I will be starting on the 22st. It’s it still at its height then?
Click to expand...
From reading threads before coming here, I was expecting to see lots of people all the time. I’ve found it comes and goes - I can walk for ages completely alone, sometimes with the sight of a few in front of me, and then there might be a few bunches of people to pass, or walk with.
 
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My own experience so far. I started from SJPdP on 25th August and had no problems with accommodation. I booked only Roncevalles and Pamplona (because I wanted to stay 2 nights). I’ve arrived late after long days and stayed in mostly municipal albergues or Refugios without issue.
 
The albergues are waiting for pilgrims. I'm staying at the Hidalgos albergue in Hospital de Orbigo and we are 4 pilgrims today. It's the same at the two other albergues close by. I spoke to the owner and they have heard the numbers from sjpdp. In Leon yesterday we were 6 pilgrims at my albergue/hostal and they had room for 40.
 
I’m two days behind you, maybe we are surfing the wave.
 
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Hi. I worked in the SJPdP Pilgrim Office one week from 28th of August and it was really crowded for a few days. Lots of rain and not enough beds in SJPdP. My advise for next year is - start one week before or after 1st of September if possible. It might be less crowded then.
 
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When I left SJPP on 14Sep, 500 pilgrims left with me. There are not 500 beds in SJPP, so they opened the fire hall. But, not everyone had mats. Two days later, reports of 900 leaving. Gite host said it wasn’t quieting down until last week of Sept.
I am now in Lorca, and everyone is booking out 1-2 weeks. No one is having success winging it. Municipales don’t take reservations, but often have near-capacity queue hours before the door opens.
 
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Kitsambler said:
I am now in Lorca, and everyone is booking out 1-2 weeks. No one is having success winging it. Municipales don’t take reservations, but often have near-capacity queue hours before the door opens.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your report. So apparently the wave hit a bit later than usual? I hope you can still enjoy your walk!

Kitsambler said:
they opened the fire hall. But, not everyone had mats.
Click to expand...

I guess bringing a sleeping mat and a tent is very useful during peak times and should be part of the basic gear for high season.

There's a campsite in St. Jean, a campsite close to Roncesvalles, campsite a bit off route in Pamplona, campsite in Puente La Reina... several albergues that allow to camp...

With "only a liner" even a sports gym or fire hall floor is not an option, but with a mat and a sleeping bag it is.

I don't know how often I've read the advice in this forum to only bring a liner, and that a mat or warm sleeping bag are useless weight... "nothing more needed"... until you get assigned a spot on the floor of an unheated building!

Maybe time to reconsider recommendations towards gear, especially for pilgrims who plan to walk during the well known busy times without booking weeks in advance.
 
good_old_shoes said:
I don't know how often I've read the advice in this forum to only bring a liner, and that a mat or warm sleeping bag are useless weight... "nothing more needed"... until you get assigned a spot on the floor of an unheated building!
Click to expand...
even in my ultralight packing list i include a (super thin) mat and a (super light) sleeping bag. Will it be comfortable? No. Will it be better than nothing and a liner. Hell yeah.

but on another note i do not understand why SJPDP has so much more capacity than Roncesvalles. Does not make sense to me that one place can accomodate 500+ and more while the next place only can 300. What happens to the others? Its not like you would see hundreds of pilgrims sleeping in the streets.
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Anhalter said:
but on another note i do not understand why SJPDP has so much more capacity than Roncesvalles. Does not make sense to me that one place can accomodate 500+ and more while the next place only can 300. What happens to the others?
Click to expand...
Some walk on to Burguete. At very busy times some take taxis to other villages and towns on the way to Pamplona. Occasionally the nearest available rooms or beds may be in Pamplona itself. There is no overall authority which manages accommodation along the way. For most of the year things work fairly well.
 
Anhalter said:
Does not make sense to me that one place can accomodate 500+ and more while the next place only can 300. What happens to the others?
Click to expand...

Some walk a short first day to Valcarlos or Orisson and then past Roncesvalles.

Some walk a longer first day and past Roncesvalles. So not everyone stays in Roncesvalles.

According to gronze:

The municipal in Valcarlos has 24 beds. Plus the rooms in private accommodation.

Orisson/Huntto/Borda have over 40 beds.

In Burguete the private albergue alone has more than 40 beds, plus the private rooms in that town.

The campsite (Camping Urrobi) only slightly off the route has over 40 beds for pilgrims also.

In Espinal the albergues have over 40 dormitory beds, plus all the private rooms.

This option also exists:
 
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Exactly. In 2016 I chose to walk from sjpdp to Burguete to a hotel I think someone called Hemingway hotel. A small and quite nice place. While Roncevalles was crowded we were two pilgrims at the hotel. Beautiful to get my own room after a long and cold strenuous walk in early April with rain and a surprising snowstorm.
 
I got there yesterday, 21st, and it was the same, fill and turning many away. I was very grateful for my reservation. Walked into Zurito just after 1:00 and easily got a room at the municipal when it opened at 1:30. I don’t know if it was filled, but it may well.
 
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I walked CF from 1-26 September and didn’t have any trouble finding places to stay. At the start I reserved ahead by a day or two, but once I got used to things, I changed to just turning up. I thought it was pretty quiet, with just seeing a few people each day, until getting to Sarria, when it was amazing how many people there were. From there, I probably saw as many people each day as I’d seen in the whole of the previous 3 weeks. I still didn’t have any problems turning up and getting a bed though.
 
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Bradypus said:
The pilgrim office just posted today's Compostela total. 3,819. The largest figure for a single day so far this year by almost 400. Seems the September wave is real enough.
Click to expand...
The Pilgrims Office in SdC has been mobbed the last few days and the city is heaving with tourists and pilgrims. We are seeing many who have started in SJPP and Roncesvalles around 1st September coming through now.
 
Bradypus said:
The pilgrim office just posted today's Compostela total. 3,819. The largest figure for a single day so far this year by almost 400. Seems the September wave is real enough.
Click to expand...

On YT, I am currently following at least five Americans on Camino Frances. A few of them have mentioned bed scarcity.

@bad role models and @My Wanderlust Camino have each expressed difficulty in finding beds; and both are hundreds of kilometers on from usual SJPP to Pamplona bottleneck.

Gosh, do I wish I were there.
 
I’m currently enjoying a night in San Bol albergue and though we are not booking ahead we are finding that many people are doing just that although some seem a little shy about admitting that. As we walked through Hornillos del Camino around midday the private albergues were completo and the municipal reach capacity leaving little options. Still trying to not succumb to the group hysteria and FOMO that seems to be the new normal. We’re now staying out of sync with the guide book ending towns as that might help. If this is the new normal then that is just the way it is
 
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Interesting, we just spent 2 days in Santiago ( Monday and Tuesday), and it seemed much less crowded than previous years, both in the main square and the streets in the area. Didn’t bother with a compostela this time.
 
I’m currently in Burgos. All the way since Pamplona, things have been full and people who are only booking for next day are having real trouble finding a spot. Often they need to shorten or lengthen their plan in order to find a bed. Several times I have shared my private room with a friend who was otherwise bedless. (I’m using a 50-50 mix of albergue and private.) If not on Booking, places are responsive to Whatsapp.
 
The "wave" does seem to be stretching out this year. 3441 arrivals at the Santiago pilgrim office today. That feels like a lot for October. 3819 last Friday. Much larger numbers than for the same period last year.
 
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Staying off stage seems to be helping but as you approach the larger cities the bottlenecks are reforming. Will be walking 30km tomorrow as there is not a bed to be had in Mansilla de las Mulas as we head for León. There are a few large groups that we are trying to be out of sync with but are finding albergues that don’t advertise bookings are taking them. Hope to spend less time on the phone soon…
 
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